Azerbaijan: 2022 was year for big cooperation breakthroughs with Central Asia countries   

Leaders of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan agree to boost cooperation (Azeri President Office)

BAKU: Building on shared roots and common interests, Azerbaijan turned 2022 into success stories thanks to the remarkable breakthroughs it achieved with Central Asia countries that have led to bolstering cooperation.

During the year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Uzbekistan, as well as Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on official visits, while the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, in turn, visited Azerbaijan, Trends reported.

The visits enabled the countries to sign many agreements and boost cooperation.

In April, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan signed 10 bilateral documents and agreements aimed at deepening cooperation. The most important document was the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, that brings the cooperation between the two countries to a qualitatively new level.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO).

The President of Kyrgyzstan called for investing in large and promising projects in the mining industry, hydropower, agriculture and other industries, together with Azerbaijan.

Leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan hold a meeting in Astana (Azeri President Office)

In August, the visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Baku marked the strategic and allied nature of relations between the two states, officially confirmed by the signing of the Declaration on Strengthening Strategic Relations and Deepening Allied Cooperation between the Two Countries, as well as a Comprehensive program for the Development of Cooperation for 2022-2026.

More than 20 other important documents were signed during the visit.

The expansion of the capacity of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor), the laying of a fiber-optic communication line (fiber optic line) along the bottom of the Caspian Sea, and the diversification of Kazakh oil export routes were among the priority areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The parties have already agreed to transport 1.5 million tons of oil through Azerbaijan from January 1, 2023, while further increasing these volumes to 6-6.5 million tons is being worked out.

Presidents of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan meet in Samarkand (Azeri president Office)

During his visit to Uzbekistan in June, President Ilham Aliyev oversaw the signing a number of important documents for the development of relations between the two countries.

Among them is the Declaration on Deepening Strategic Partnership and Increasing Comprehensive Cooperation, which opens a new stage in bilateral relations.

The most important areas of cooperation were identified as the expansion of trade and industrial cooperation.

In addition to transport and logistics cooperation, the parties agreed on the joint development of the agricultural sector.

Cooperation in the military and military-political sphere will also be one of the priorities.

Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Turkmenistan summit (Azeri President Office)

The results of the Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Turkmenistan summit in the Turkmen city of Avaza in December will make a great contribution to the development of transport and transit potential, and to the transformation of the three states into a single energy hub, which is of great importance for the wider region today.

This year, the export of Turkmen gas to European countries through Azerbaijan and Türkiye has become one of the main topics on the agenda. The Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed on January 21, 2021 in Ashgabat on joint exploration, development and development of hydrocarbon resources of the Dostlug field in the Caspian Sea will be of great importance.

The trade turnover between the two countries has increased fivefold, making is a record indicator.

According to Trends, the driving force of Azerbaijan’s interaction with the countries of Central Asia is, first of all, the transport and logistics industry, namely the joint development of trans-Caspian transcontinental cargo transportation – The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM).

Against the background of the global crisis and instability, Azerbaijan, like its Central Asian partners, understands that strengthening relations between the countries of the Turkic world is a primary task.